Cape Cod: family well met at Wellfleet

After a rather uncomfortable, marathon passage of 37 hours, the anchor was dropped at 17:25 in the outer harbour of Wellfleet during a sudden squall with heavy rain, mist and a 33kt wind. The timing could not have been worse! Retired after early supper and felt thoroughly revived by the time dawn broke on Thursday (29 August). The harbour at Wellfleet has a 10-11ft tidal range and can only be entered 2 hrs either side of high water. This we did and Follyfin was all tied up onto mooring no.1 as previously arranged with the harbourmaster. This appeared to be the only guest mooring that could accommodate a vessel our size so that was lucky. However, when we later went ashore to settle up for 2 nights on the mooring, we understood why there was no queue for it: the hugely inflated price of $55 per night with zero facilities - only a public shower that was out of order! Nevertheless, this place was ideal for our rendezvous with the family the following day - only about 30 mins drive from their rented holiday house. Another factor accounting for the scarcity of cruising yachts in Wellfleet is the range of tide: it’s over 10ft on average, and now at springs it’s more like 12ft meaning that most of the harbour is dry for a couple of hours either side of low water. Follyfin’s lifting keel takes care of that!

Wellfleet claims to have ‘the finest oysters on the Cape’. We sampled them and they were indeed excellent. Other shellfish and lobsters are available in profusion.

Another tasty comestible we came across was the bluefish pâté found in the fish market on the waterfront: excellent spread on rice crackers. Exploring the town, there were many art galleries and souvenirs shops; it’s a typical seaside town, a delightful destination for the summer holidays. But like all places on the Cape, beware of very inflated prices.

Friday 30 August was the date set for our rendezvous with the family. Our scheduled early morning pick-up by son Warren had to be delayed by an hour because we could not get ashore owing to the aforementioned drying of the harbour. However, once accomplished, a fun family day was has by all as attested by the photos below. Lara’s parents, Diane and Paul, were holidaying with them - a rare opportunity for both sets of grandparents to be with the family for a whole day simultaneously. After two visits to the beach, breakfast, lunch and dinner all together, we were safely delivered back to Follyfin later that night after spending a fun day with them all - so fortunate that we were able to arrange such a meeting as they are heading back to Jersey City tomorrow.

Beagle burying Bella

Bella buried

Outdoor dining at holiday house, Brewster, Cape Cod

BBQ King at work

Two grandads and a dad

Lunch, holiday style

Amelia - looking well after her recent brush with hospital emergency services

Outdoor shower - fun for Noah and Bella

The following morning there was time for us to pop ashore again for a brief period before leaving the inner harbour just after high water. Anchoring again in the outer harbour, we enjoyed a blissfully peaceful afternoon and evening in the warm sunshine, planning our next move.